The Portland Thorns know what it's like to struggle and fight for a playoff victory on the road during the middle of a sweltering Kansas City summer.

They've already done it once before.

The third-place Thorns came back to beat second-place FC Kansas City 3-2 in extra time in the 2013 NWSL playoff semifinal game before going on to win the inaugural NWSL title. And Portland will be headed back to Kansas City Saturday for a repeat of last year's semifinal game.

"We have the team and the players to be able to win another championship," Thorns midfielder Tobin Heath said. "I think everybody's confident. Going into Kansas City and having done the exact same thing last year, I think everybody's feeling good going into the game."

Last season, the Thorns struggled at times during the year and ended up clinching the third seed on the final day of the season. This year they overcame similar — if not worse — struggles and weren't guaranteed a playoff berth until after their final regular-season game.

Just one week ago, it actually seemed improbable that the Thorns would be returning to this year's NWSL playoffs and even more unlikely that Portland would be able to jump into third place in the NWSL standings to face FC Kansas City in the semifinals.

"We just wanted the chance for it to be up to us," Thorns midfielder Veronica Boquete said. "We had a good game and we showed we could play like a team. We were able to do that a few times this season, but we weren't able to maintain it. The challenge for us is showing that we can continue to be as good of a team as we were the other day against Seattle."

Last season the Thorns took the momentum from a 2-1 win over Seattle in their regular-season finale into the semifinals against Kansas City, and they are hoping to use the momentum from the home finale win over Seattle this season to once again peak in the playoffs.

"I think hopefully we've reached a peak at the right time and are getting into our groove," Thorns defender Rachel Van Hollebeke said. "It's just so great to kind of have that game going into playoffs now. I think it's brought us a lot of confidence."

The Thorns will be facing a tough and talented Kansas City squad that's been carrying a chip on its shoulder all season.

Kansas City led the Thorns by as many as two goals and maintained a lead up until the 65th minute of last year's semifinal game before allowing Portland to score the equalizer.

They don't want to let another chance at going to the championship game slip away this time around.

"We feel like we've been working toward this," Kansas City defender Leigh Ann Robinson said. "Last year's loss kind of lit a fire under us and we're definitely going into this game guns blazing."

Thorns coach Paul Riley, who coached a large contingent of Kansas City's roster when he was the coach of the Philadelphia Independence of Women's Professional Soccer, said he is expecting Saturday's match to be a close and hard-fought game.

"We're going to have to be at our best," Riley said. "I don't think it's going to be a slugfest. I think it's going to be a tight game. I think it's going to be a typical playoff game and hopefully we get the better of them."

Despite the similarities to last season's semifinal game, the Thorns aren't focusing on what's happened in the past.

This is not the same group that came together in the playoffs last season to win a championship. Only eight players remain from the 2013 championship squad, and this team plays a very different style of soccer.

This Thorns squad still has something to prove.

"It's 90 minutes," Riley said. "The whole season comes down to 90 minutes. You just throw everything you can at them and into the game. I think if we can play stingy and keep it tight, we got enough juice up front to win the game."